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Michael Jordan Quotes That Prove He’s Not Just A Basketball Champion

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Michael Jordan is the kind of guy you don’t just like — you love. He’s your favorite player and your role model. You want to be like him or at least dreamed about it when you were a kid. But it’s not just because he’s a terrific basketball player; he has a way of making everything he does seem effortless, even if it’s clearly not. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff and always keeps going when things get tough.

But how did this all start? With failure. Yep, that monster under the bed everyone seems to be afraid of. Perhaps the biggest disappointment that went on to define the person he is arrived when he was just a high school student. He was cut from the varsity basketball team because he was deemed too short to play. And by short, we mean 5 feet 11 inches. Most people would have probably given up after hearing this and tried something different.

But MJ isn’t just anyone. He used failure as fuel to take his career to the next level and eventually became the GOAT. In other words, failure was his blessing in disguise. It gave him new perspectives and fueled his determination, and that’s the only natural path to success. If he had given up, he would’ve never become the greatest basketball player of all time, and we would have never heard of him.

It’s hard not to admire someone who can do all that and still manage to throw down some of the most famous quotes in history. He’s the best at saying things that can pump us up, and we can’t help but want to quote him for all eternity. So here’s the ultimate collection of Michael Jordan quotes, from his greatest ones to those that are not so well-known but still deserve the world.

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#1

"Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life."

13points

#2

"There is no ‘i’ in the team but there is in win."

12points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

But there IS an M and an E in it.

2points

#3

“Not every flying hero has a cape.”

12points

#4

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

11points

#5

"If you quit once, it becomes a habit. Never quit!"

11points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

But sometimes it’s good not to persevere I’m something that’s doomed to crash and burn, and take you down with it. In those cases, it’s best to cut your losses and move on to something better.

1point

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#6

"Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others."

10points

#7

"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."

10points

#8

"There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either."

10points

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#9

"I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come."

10points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)

But sometimes the results just never attainable, so like I said in another comment, just cut your losses and move on to something more realistically attainable. Just trying some things, even if you don’t stick with them, is good enough.

1point

#10

"What is love? Love is playing every game as if it’s your last."

10points

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#11

“All I knew is that I never wanted to be average.”

10points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

But most people are average, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of at all. Average people are the heroes we need, who keep the world running smoothly.

1point

#12

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."

9points

#13

"I've never lost a game, I just ran out of time."

9points

#14

"If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won’t look back and say I was afraid to try."

9points

#15

"If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus."

9points

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#16

"Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work."

9points

#17

"My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said you never know what you can accomplish until you try."

9points

#18

"Live the moment for the moment."

9points

#19

"I play to win, whether during practice or a real game."

9points

#20

"Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation."

9points

#21

"Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again."

9points

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#22

"I never thought a role model should be negative."

9points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

Well, sometimes it’s a good idea to see a living example of what NOT to do.

1point

#23

"My challenge when I came back was to face the young talent, to dissect their games, and show them maybe that they needed to learn more about the game than just the money aspect."

9points

#24

"People ask me if I could fly, I said, ‘Yeah…. for a little while.’"

9points

#25

“My innate personality is to win at all costs. If I have to do it myself, I’m going to do it.”

9points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

How Machiavellian of you, Michael.

1point

#26

"If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways, that’s about life too."

9points

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#27

"Heart is what separates the good from the great."

8points

#28

"Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate."

8points

#29

"Winning isn't always championships."

8points

#30

"My heroes are and were my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes."

8points

#31

"To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail."

8points

#32

"In reality, I never want to grow up."

8points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)

Yep, agree with that. One caveat to it, however; there’s a huge difference between being youthful and being immature. Know the difference.

1point

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#33

"Learning’s a gift, even when pain is your teacher."

8points

#34

"I want to be the bridge to the next generation."

8points

#35

"Every time I feel tired while I am exercising and training, I close my eyes to see that picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again."

8points

#36

"I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat."

8points

#37

"The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can’t let yourself be beat because of lack of effort."

8points

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#38

"You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them."

8points

#39

"I know the signs of scaredness."

8points

#40

"Being Michael Jordan means acting the same as I always have."

8points

#41

"I realize that I’m black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and this is everybody’s wish."

8points

#42

"If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."

8points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

Depends on the wall, I would think.

1point

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#43

"I can’t speak for the future. I have no crystal ball."

8points

#44

"On the basketball court, I worry about nothing. When I’m out there, no one can bother me."

8points

#45

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”

8points

#46

“I’ve never been afraid to fail.”

8points

#47

"How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know, you go do it? And you realized you shouldn’t have done it."

8points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)

Definition of a teenager, whose parents turned something they didn’t want their kid doing into forbidden fruit, which they then doubled down on wanting. If the parents had just not made a big deal of it, the kid probably wouldn’t have given it another thought

1point

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#48

"Best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are."

8points

#49

"The best come from the worst."

8points

#50

"I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus."

8points

#51

"My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn’t stand the sideline."

8points

#52

"I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and perseverance with a positive attitude."

8points

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#53

"Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge, as well as the physical challenge."

8points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago

In any contact sport, playing while ill should never be permitted.

1point

#54

“When people see this, they’re going to say, well he wasn’t really a nice guy, he may have been a tyrant… Well, that’s you, because you’ve never won anything.”

8points

#55

"Failure always made me try harder the next time."

8points

#56

"If no one will help you, do it alone."

8points

Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)

The only person you can 100% rely on to help you when you need it most is yourself. People who offer help when you don’t need it, but say they’ll come running if you call, all seem to have fallen off the face of the earth when you take them up on their offer and make that call.

1point

#57

"Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."

7points

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#58

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

7points

#59

"I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it."

7points

#60

"I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me."

7points

#61

"Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night."

7points

#62

"You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that."

7points

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#63

"Relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game."

7points

#64

"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome."

7points

#65

"When I will lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game."

7points

#66

"The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace."

7points

#67

"I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life."

7points

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#68

"To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish."

7points

#69

"The good part about being famous is being able to help people. The hard part is every day you have to be in a good mood because that is what people expect. You learn to get good at it."

7points

#70

"I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win."

7points

#71

"I wasn’t really a work-conscious type of person. I was a player. I loved to play sports."

7points

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#72

"There’s only one Michael Jordan."

7points

#73

"If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you."

7points

#74

"Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate."

7points

#75

"They don’t need a ticket to watch you sitting on the bench. They can go to your house for that."

7points

#76

"Don’t let them drag you down by rumors just go with what you believe in."

7points

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#77

"Gambling is legal and betting is legal, for what I bet."

7points

#78

"The basketball court for me, during a game, is the most peaceful place I can imagine."

7points

#79

"If I had been playing for money I would have complained a long time ago that I was underpaid."

7points

#80

"It is nerve-wracking watching my kids’ games."

7points

#81

"I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don’t get me wrong. But don’t try to put the organization above the players."

7points

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#82

"It’s hard to say if the NBA is hurt by the influx of younger players, but it’s definitely impacted the league."

7points

#83

"The key to success is failure."

7points

#84

"You can practice shooting 8 hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise."

7points

#85

"Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ball park."

7points

#86

"My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind."

7points

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#87

"Champions do not become champions when they win an event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely a demonstration of their championship character."

7points

#88

"Do I need my number retired throughout the course of the league to acknowledge what I’ve done? No."

7points

#89

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

7points

#90

"In college, I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I’ve been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, travel and expand my financial capabilities, get ideas and learn about life, and create a world apart from basketball."

7points

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#91

"I’d like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it’s never going to be completely normal."

7points

#92

"For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you’ve accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball."

7points

#93

“Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen. Well, everybody says I won all these championships. But I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. That’s why I consider him my greatest teammate of all time.”

7points

#94

“It’s funny. A lot of people say they’d like to be Michael Jordan for a day or for a week. But let them try to be Michael Jordan for a year. See if they like it… Let them see that it’s no fun.”

7points

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#95

"I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."

7points

#96

"If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you."

7points

#97

"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."

6points

#98

"The minute you get away from fundamentals–whether it's proper technique, work ethic, or mental preparation–the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you're doing."

6points

#99

"I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era."

6points

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#100

"It's heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can. People may disagree with that. I can’t live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do."

6points

#101

"I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… When you think about the consequences you will always think of the negative result."

6points

#102

"Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight."

6points

#103

"If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life."

6points

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#104

"I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent."

6points

#105

"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."

6points

#106

"Even when I’m old and gray, I won't be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game."

6points

#107

"In any investment, you expect to have fun and make money."

6points

#108

"It’s absolutely wrong that I don’t want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren’t in the room."

6points

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#109

“It is easy to choose a path of anonymity and lead an empty life. But to strive hard and lead an impactful life, one needs a burning desire to realize dreams.”

6points

#110

"I won’t have any competitive instincts in any sports, other than golf. I can’t see being competitive in sports anymore."

6points

#111

"As athletes, we’re used to reacting quickly. Here, it’s ‘come, stop, come, stop.’ There’s a lot of downtime. That’s the toughest part of the day."

6points

#112

"The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, a place I’ve always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It’s been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It’s a relationship that has evolved over time, giving me the greatest respect and love for the game."

6points

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#113

"When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals."

6points

#114

"I will not quit this game because of what the media has done to me."

6points

#115

“If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would never want to be considered a role model. It’s like a game that’s stacked against me. You know, there’s no way I can win.”

6points

#116

“Winning has a price, and leadership has a price. So I pulled people on when they didn’t want to be pulled and I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates came after me. They didn’t endure the things that I endured.”

6points

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#117

“That’s the sign of a good man if you can talk crap when it’s even score or talk crap when you’re behind score. When you’re ahead, it’s easy to talk.”

6points

#118

“In ’91-’92, I was young, full of energy, hungry. In ’98, when, winning 6 out of 8, and yet being just as dominant as you were in ’91, that’s where the craftsmanship came in, and I think ’98 was much better than any of the other years because of how I was able to use my mind as well as my body.”

6points

#119

“It’s maddening because I felt like we could have won seven. I really believe that. We may not have, but man, just to not be able to try, that’s something that I just can’t accept.”

6points

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#120

“Accept a loss as a learning experience and never point fingers at your teammates.”

6points

#121

"You’re going to play from the little girls’ tees?"

5points

#122

"I own the guy guarding me."

5points

#123

"I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges."

5points

Aivaras Kaziukonis

Aivaras is a SEO listicles curator. Aivaras is a student trying to pave the way to his career in Marketing and advertisment creation. Also Aivaras like's to watch and play sports, especially football.

Aivaras is a SEO listicles curator. Aivaras is a student trying to pave the way to his career in Marketing and advertisment creation. Also Aivaras like's to watch and play sports, especially football.

Melanie Gervasoni

Writer on a quest to explore every corner of the world, one country at a time. Fueled by my love for Arcane, oversized hoodies, and weightlifting, I try my best to bring even more fun energy to Bored Panda. My cup of tea? Pop culture, funny content, sharing interesting facts about the world, and creating listicles for fellow Pandas. When I’m not crafting articles, my eyes are still glued to a screen — be it binge-watching my favorite shows, leveling up in video games, or learning Spanish with Duolingo. Always on the hunt for the ultimate playlist, I scour Deezer to find the right tunes to listen to while working on my creative projects.

Writer on a quest to explore every corner of the world, one country at a time. Fueled by my love for Arcane, oversized hoodies, and weightlifting, I try my best to bring even more fun energy to Bored Panda. My cup of tea? Pop culture, funny content, sharing interesting facts about the world, and creating listicles for fellow Pandas. When I’m not crafting articles, my eyes are still glued to a screen — be it binge-watching my favorite shows, leveling up in video games, or learning Spanish with Duolingo. Always on the hunt for the ultimate playlist, I scour Deezer to find the right tunes to listen to while working on my creative projects.

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